Tropical Smoothie Café Franchisee Secures SBA Loan to Open First Location in Idaho

June 21, 2012 - PRLog -- New York, NY – BoeFly, the premier online marketplace connecting small business borrowers with lenders and a strategic ally of the International Franchise Association (IFA) to expand credit access within the franchise community, announced today that it connected Angie Frost, a Tropical Smoothie Café franchisee in Boise, Idaho, with a local bank for a $245,000 SBA-guaranteed start-up loan. Tropical Smoothie Café has more than 300 locations across the country. Frost’s Boise location will be the first Tropical Smoothie Café in Idaho.

“I knew financing would be difficult when I decided to become a first-time business owner, and BoeFly’s service was extremely helpful in connecting me with a lender,” said Frost, who has previous experience in hospitality. “It would have taken me months to connect with the lenders I found on BoeFly.  I look forward to opening for business and bringing Idaho its first Tropical Smoothie Café location.”

With the assistance of BoeFly, Frost was able to connect with multiple lenders and chose to work with Mark Stephenson, Vice President of SBA Lending at Mountain West Bank in Boise, for the loan of $245,000.

"We are always on the lookout for worthy business borrowers, and we are very pleased to have met our new client on BoeFly,” said Stephenson. “When I reviewed Angie's financing request, I was impressed to find 19 supporting documents – all the files I needed in order to move forward and close a deal."

Frost used BoeFly at the recommendation of Tropical Smoothie Café, which has selected the platform to assist its franchisees in obtaining bank financing.

“Tropical Smoothie Café chose to work with BoeFly in an effort to support our franchisees with the challenge of financing,” said Charles Watson, Vice President of Development for Tropical Smoothie Café. “We were excited to learn that the service helped Angie Frost become a first-time owner and expand our footprint to new areas, and we are confident in the future success it will bring the Tropical Smoothie franchisees.”

“It is nice to work with a franchise system like Tropical Smoothie Café that supports franchisees throughout the entire process, including financing,” said Mike Rozman, Co-president of BoeFly. “Tropical Smoothie pointed Frost to BoeFly, where she was guided through building a bank-ready financing request and was matched with a bank in a neighboring state.  We look forward to continuing our work with Tropical Smoothie in helping to support its franchisees.”

About BoeFly

BoeFly makes it easier to obtain small business loans (http://www.boefly.com/) by reducing the time, cost, complexity, inefficiency and frustration associated with small business lending.  Its online proprietary matching technology connects small business borrowers with multiple lenders from among its over 2,200 participating banks, based on the lending profiles provided by the banks and the information provided in the borrower’s loan request.

Borrowers build a complete decision-ready loan request online using BoeFly’s exclusive “SmartForm” technology which, when completed, provides the information that  over 2,200 lenders nationwide indicated to BoeFly they want to see before moving forward with a loan request. The SmartForm is easy to use and guides borrowers through the process. Once BoeFly’s matching technology identifies compatible lenders, borrowers then have complete control over which lenders can instantly access their loan request.  Using BoeFly, borrowers can connect with multiple lenders quickly and easily, providing a greater probability of obtaining a loan, as well as more favorable loan terms resulting from the creation of a competitive marketplace.   Lenders benefit by being presented with only those loan requests that fit their lending profile, dramatically lowering their cost and time of origination.   BoeFly is not a broker.  Borrowers pay a small one-time fee and lenders pay an ongoing subscription fee; BoeFly never charges transaction or referral fees.

BoeFly, now a strategic ally of the International Franchise Association to expand credit access within the franchise community (http://www.boefly.com/ifa.cfm), offers a Franchise Solution brings these benefits to the large and growing small business franchisee community and is the choice of over 90 brands including Dunkin’ Donuts, Carl’s Jr., Express Personnel and Kiddie Academy, among many others.

BoeFly’s Affiliate Solution is the financing exchange chosen by the Association of Small Business Development Centers, representing approximately 1,000 centers nationwide, which are funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, to serve small businesses, and Franchise Gator, the leading site for information on franchise opportunities.

BoeFly was founded by small business owners and small business lending experts with extensive small business lending experience. The company is privately-held and is based in New York City. http://www.boefly.com.

About Tropical Smoothie Café

Founded in Destin, Fla., in 1997, Tropical Smoothie Café is in a niche category of the quick service restaurant industry providing diners with healthier food with a tropical twist. Tropical Smoothie franchised locations offer made-to-order toasted wraps, flatbreads, sandwiches and gourmet salads, while continuing to provide consumers with a variety of high-quality real fruit smoothies. Tropical Smoothie Café includes dine-in, take-out and catering menu options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, available through online ordering. For more information on Tropical Smoothie Café, please visit http://www.tropicalsmoothiecafe.com  http://www.facebook.com/tropicalsmoothiecafe or call 888-292-2522.

Media inquiries:

BoeFly
Bill Fallon/ Keating Co. /212.925.6900/ bfallon@keatingco.com

Tropical Smoothie Café
Kathy Siefert/KLS Communications/404-441-3669/ ksiefert@kls-communications.com